Iran convicts 2 men of spying for Britain, Israel

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — An Iranian court convicted two men on charges of spying for Britain and Israel and sentenced them to 10 and five years in prison, respectively, state television reported Friday.

The report on the state television's website quoted prosecutor Yadollah Movahhed in southeastern Kerman province, were both were tried, as saying that the man sentenced to 10 years had "exchanged information with four British intelligence operatives."

Movahhed said the other man, arrested last August, passed on intelligence to a security officer at the Israeli embassy in Thailand.

Both men are believed to be Iranians but Movahhed did not provide their names. It was not known if the suspects had defense lawyers.

On Thursday, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported that a court in Kerman province sentenced a group of already jailed cyber-activists to prison terms ranging from one to 11 years in prison on charges of breaching national security.

IRNA quoted Movahhed as saying those sentenced had ties with foreign media and were preparing to provide technical services for anti-government websites.

Iran occasionally says it has dismantled Western spying networks in the country and announces arrests of individuals on espionage charges.